l-Piiiii 


THE  REPERTORY 
THEATRE  IDEA 

By  FRANCES  JEWETT 


How  far  that  little  candle  throws  his  beams  ! 
So  shines  a  good  deed  in  a  naughty  world. 

—  Shaketpeare 


The  Repertory  Theatre  Idea 

Three  Addresses  byMRS.jEWETT 
GIVEN  BEFORE  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
FRANCES  JEWETT  REPERTORY  THEATRE  CLUB 
at  the  meetings  of  March  3,  1920,  March  2,  1921 
January  4,  1922 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  FRANCES  JEWETT  REPERTORY  THEATRE  CLUB 

COPLEY  THEATRE,  BOSTON 

MASSACHUSETTS 


COPYRIGHT,  1922 

BY 
FRANCES    H.  JEWETT 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  THEATRE* 


ADDRESS  AT  THE 

MONTHLY  MEETING  OF  THE  CLUB 
MARCH  3,  1920 


GREETINGS  to  this  Club  and  gratitude 
to  its  members  for  all  that  they  have 
done  and  are  doing  to  help  this  Repertory 
Theatre  idea. 

As  I  stand  here  with  this  audience  facing 
me,  I  am  reminded  of  words  spoken  to  me 
over  twenty-five  years  ago  when  I  was 
crossing  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  my  way  from 
Australia  to  America,  words  that  have  since 

(The  title  of  this  address  was  taken  from  a  letter 
which  was  written  by  Mr.  John  Drinkwater  to  Mrs. 
John  C.  Abbot,  President  of  the  Frances  Jewett 
Repertory  Theatre  Club  and  read  at  the  club 
meeting  on  February  4th,  1920.  In  this  letter  Mr. 
Drinkwater  wrote  ".  .  .  .  it  is  only  through  such 
ventures  that  any  health  can  return  to  the  theatre, 
and  I  am  sure,  moreover,  that  every  such  effort 
reacts  definitely  upon  the  whole  range  of  theatrical 
enterprise.") 


523130 


'The  Repertory  theatre  Idea 

become  to  me  as  a  prophecy  fulfilled.  An 
American  woman,  sailing  on  the  same  boat, 
returning  to  her  own  country,  said  these 
words  to  me:  "You  will  not  be  lonely  in 
America,  you  will  love  it,  and  Americans 
will  love  you.  I  see  their  faces  turning 
towards  you,  especially  I  see  the  faces  of  the 
American  women  turning  to  you."  This 
may  have  been  said  merely  to  comfort  a 
young  and  lonely  woman  leaving  her  home 
and  country  for  the  first  time  and  going  to 
a  strange  land  and  a  strange  people,  though 
thank  God,  not  speaking  a  strange  language. 
However  that  may  be,  her  words  have  come 
true,  or  I  would  not  be  standing  here  today 
in  the  presence  of  this  Club,  formed  by  seven 
women  who  did  me  the  honor  to  call  it  by 
my  name.  And  America  is  no  longer  a 
strange  country  to  mei  It  has  become  my 
country  and  her  people  my  people. 

The  Repertory  Theatre  is  essentially  the 
democracy  of  the  theatrical  world.  In  it 
every  man  and  woman  has  equal  and  ample 
opportunity,  the  talented  to  fully  exercise 
their  ability,  the  weak  to  develop  theirs. 
The  idea,  however,  did  not  at  first  make 


Three  Addresses  by  Mrs.Jewett 

its  direct  appeal  to  me,  but  to  my  husband, 
and  it  was  in  listening  to  him  talk  of  its 
value  to  his  profession  and  to  the  public 
that  I  began  to  see  for  myself  its  far-reaching 
influence  and  possibilities  for  good,  and  as 
these  possibilities  unfolded  more  and  more 
to  my  thought  the  call  for  definite  action 
became  more  and  more  imperative,  until 
finally  it  was  I  who  pleaded  and  urged  that 
he  start  this  Repertory  Theatre  in  Boston 
and  put  his  theories  into  practice.  Indeed, 
it  was  my  hand  that  pushed  his  boat  from 
the  shore  to  meet  the  troubled  waters  that 
always  await  the  launching  of  a  more 
advanced  idea  —  but,  womanlike,  having 
done  so,  I  jumped  on  board  with  him  and 
we  have  sailed  many  stormy  seas  together. 

I  do  not  grudge  the  struggles  and  the 
sufferings  we  have  passed  through  since 
that  first  step  was  taken,  for  the  goal  is  a 
high  one,  this  Repertory  Theatre  idea, 
which  is  to  restore  the  health  of  the  theatre. 
The  work  is  well  started,  and  in  the  future 
it  will  rest  largely  with  this  Club  to  carry 
it  on.  The  torch  which  we  have  lighted 
we  are  already  prepared  to  fling  to  you. 


The  Repertory  Theatre  I dea 

May  you  and  yours  carry  it  high  and  clear 
for  others  to  see  and  follow.  May  you  one 
and  all,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  words,  "Carry 
on,  carry  on,  carry  on!" 


THE  HIGHER  AIM  OF  THE  THEATRE 


ADDRESS  AT  THE 

MONTHLY  MEETING  OF  THE  CLUB 
MARCH  2,  1921 


T  AM  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
•*•  speaking  a  few  words  to  you  this  after- 
noon. It  is  just  a  year  ago  since  I  stood  here 
and  asked  you  to  help  "carry  on"  and  up  the 
higher  idealism  of  the  Repertory  Theatre, 
and  I  want  to  thank  each  and  every  worker 
who  has  done  so.  During  the  past  year 
many  steps  have  been  taken  on  and  up, 
and  there  have  been  many  developments. 
The  latest,  it  appears  that  the  little  house 
which  has  for  several  years  sheltered  this 
repertory  idea  is  to  be  swept  aside  by  the 
march  of  events  and  we  are  faced  with  the 
problem  either  that  Boston  must  lose  this 
repertory  idea,  or  that  we  must  build  it  a 
new  and  more  adequate  house.  That  Boston 
should  lose  the  idea  seems  inconceivable,  and 


'The  Repertory   Theatre  Idea 

that  we  should  build  a  theatre  at  this  time 
raises  a  very  grave  question.  Why?  At  a 
time  when  the  world  is  suffering  from  the 
effects  of  a  great  and  disastrous  war,  the 
consequences  being  manifested  in  sorrow, 
disease  and  famine,  why  should  we  give 
our  time,  our  thought  and  our  money  to 
build  a  theatre?  I  am  answering  myself 
and  I  will  answer  you  by  one  magic  word — 
Education.  Certainly  we  should  stretch 
out  our  hand  to  comfort  the  sorrowing  and 
the  diseased.  But  we  have  yet  another 
hand  and  that  surely  should  be  stretched 
out  to  uphold  and  further  education  and 
enlightenment  for  the  race.  Education  is 
the  watchword  of  every  true  democracy,  and 
education,  like  most  other  things  in  this  age, 
has  burst  its  bonds,  has  swept  on  through 
the  schools,  passed  the  schools.  It  has  been 
incorporated  in  the  business  world,  into  the 
sport  world,  into  almost  every  avenue  of 
life.  It  has  called  each  and  every  art  to 
its  aid,  and  last  of  all  it  is  calling  the  theatre 
and  the  theatre  is  answering  like  "an  army 
with  banners" — the  theatre  with  its  light 
and  its  shade,  its  laughter  and  its  tears,  the 


'Three  Addresses  by  Mrs.  Jewett 

theatre  with  its  wide  open  doors  through 
which  the  millions  pour  day  by  day  and 
night  by  night,  with  its  great  roll  of  drama 
through  which  many  of  our  greatest  geniuses 
have  appealed  to  universal  humanity,  pre- 
eminently our  own  immortal  Shakespeare, — 
the  theatre  which  of  all  the  arts  holds  up 
the  mirror  wherein  humanity  loves  to  see 
itself.  Matthew  Arnold  truly  cried,  "The 
theatre  is  irresistible,  organize  the  theatre!" 

Thus  the  theatre  is  a  great  factor  in  our 
midst.  It  is  either  to  be  a  great  blessing 
or  a  bane  to  our  race.  And  what  are  we 
going  to  do  about  it?  The  flame  of  the 
higher  idealism  for  the  theatre  has  been 
already  kindled  here  in  Boston.  It  flickered 
up,  at  first  a  feeble  flame,  sometimes  almost 
lost  in  the  struggles  of  its  pioneers  and  often 
almost  quenched  by  their  tears,  but  it  has 
lived  on  and  it  is  burning  now  a  steady 
flame. 

I  am  not  here  to  beg,  but  I  am  here  to 
invite  you  to  nourish  and  feed  this  flame, 
to  fan  it  so  that  it  may  become  a  beacon 
light  to  show  to  the  world  what  the  theatre 
in  its  higher  mission  can  do  for  the  race, 


The  Repertory  Theatre  Idea 

not  only  for  our  own  generation  but  for 
generations  yet  to  come. 

I  thank  you  for  all  the  good  you  have 
done,  for  all  the  good  you  are  going  to  do, 
and  again  I  invite  you  to  "carry  on." 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  SPOKEN  WORD 
IN  THE  THEATRE 


ADDRESS  AT  THE 

MONTHLY  MEETING  OF  THE  CLUB 
JANUARY  4,  1922 


MR.  SHAW,  in  his  preface  to  the  little 
play  "The  Dark  Lady  of  the  Sonnets," 
which  is  to  be  given  here  this  afternoon, 
states  that  he  originally  wrote  the  play 
to  aid  a  fund  to  build  a  National  Theatre 
in  England.  He  adds,  rather  sadly,  that 
the  project  failed — in  England,  because 
so  many  people  failed  to  see  the  necessity 
of  such  a  theatre  in  order  that  the  people 
might  have  a  National  soul.  He  goes 
on  to  speak,  through  the  characters  of 
this  play,  of  the  power  of  the  spoken  word 
and  of  the  glory  that  may  be  revealed 
through  lovely  words.  Finally  he  quotes 
from  that  great  Word — the  Book  of  Books — 
and  I  very  reverently  repeat:  "In  the 


'The  Repertory  'Theatre  Idea 

beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God,"  and, 
"Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone  but  by 
every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  God."  We  know  that  the  theatre 
has  been  chosen  by  many  great  writers  as 
an  avenue  for  their  genius,  realizing  the 
power  of  the  spoken  word  to  reach  the 
people,  and  yet  in  this  day,  as  never  before 
in  history,  in  thousands  of  theatres  in  this 
and  other  lands  the  spoken  word  is  banished; 
that  wonderful  instrument,  the  human  voice, 
is  silent,  we  see  only  a  passing  show.  Think 
what  it  would  be  if  we  had  such  a  world, 
speechless,  voiceless — a  dumb  universe.  The 
greatest  group  of  nations  on  earth  today  is 
united  by  one  common  tie;  it  is  not  the 
tie  of  blood,  it  is  much  stronger  than  blood, 
it  is  the  tie  of  language,  the  English  language. 
We  are  often  severely  criticised,  among  other 
things,  in  connection  with  our  work  in  this 
theatre,  for  confining  ourselves — so  it  is  said, 
to  English  plays  acted  by  English  players. 
I  would  like  to  say  here,  we  do  not  confine 
ourselves  to  anything.  On  the  contrary,  we 
are  unfolding,  adding  a  new  chapter  in  the 


'Three  Addresses  by  Mrs.  Jewett 

evolution  of  dramatic  art  in  America.  Is 
it  not  entirely  logical  that  in  this  vast 
country  with  its  innumerable  theatres,  and 
in  this  historic  city  of  Boston,  there  should 
be  at  least  one  theatre  offering  a  welcome 
and  a  home  for  the  works  of  thinkers  and 
writers  whose  thoughts,  training  and  methods 
were  obtained  in  the  atmosphere  where  the 
language  was  evolved,  and  for  players  whose 
training  and  voices  were  also  "made  in 
England?"  Is  it  not  cause  rather  for  gratitude 
than  for  censure,  that  there  is  a  theatre 
where  American  dramatists,  poets,  students, 
actors  and  public  have  the  opportunity  to 
come  and  study  these  methods  direct  from 
the  land  and  race  that  mothered  our  words 
and  speech?  I  think  so.  We  have  tried, 
however  feebly,  in  this  little  house  to  give 
out  beautiful  words  thoughtfully  and 
adequately  expressed,  and  I  trust  that  this 
work  will  be  carried  on  until  its  horizon 
deepens,  broadens  and  glows,  until  it 
becomes  boundless!  Art  is  always  untram- 
meled,  never  local,  never  personal,  therefore 
always  beautiful,  and,  thank  God,  always 
universal. 


The  Repertory   Theatre  Idea 

I  hope  that  some  day  you  will  build  a 
home  here  in  Boston,  where  lovelier  and 
lovelier  words  may  be  given  out  to  feed  the 
hungry  heart  of  the  people,  to  the  end  that 
in  this  great  land,  indeed,  the  National  soul 
may  live. 


The  Repertory  Theatre  Idea 

I  hope  that  some  day  you  will  build  a 
home  here  in  Boston,  where  lovelier  and 
lovelier  words  may  be  given  out  to  feed  the 
hungry  heart  of  the  people,  to  the  end  that 
in  this  great  land,  indeed,  the  National  soul 
may  live. 


Louis  E.  CROSSCUP  Co. 

PRINTERS 
BOSTON  MASS 


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MAR 


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523130 


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